Uruguay and Brazil have concluded their proposals to present to the European Union and are waiting for Argentina and Paraguay, in the framework of current negotiations, delayed for years, to reach a free trade and cooperation agreement between the two blocs.
The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso anticipated that 'soon' there will be 'events' referred to the EU/Mercosur cooperation and trade agreement and underlined that Brazil is most interested in making possible such an accord.
The conclusion of a trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur ‘only depends on the bloc’ said the European Commission Vice-President for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani.
Mercosur has many internal problems and therefore it is much easier to work with Brazil, said European Commission Vice-President for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani who spent this week two days of negotiations with top officials in Brasilia.
The Brazilian government National Trade Council, Camex, approved the contents of a proposed trade liberalization offer to be made by Brazil involving negotiations for a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
The powerful manufacturers lobby, Sao Paulo’s Industry Federation, Fiesp believes a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is very much needed so that Latam’s largest economy climbs out from the “commercial isolation” in which it currently stands.
The lack of ‘tuning’ in trade affairs is not the only motive stalling the decade long Mercosur/European Union trade and cooperation discussions according to EU ambassador in Montevideo, Juan Fernandez Trigo who also included what he described as the ‘new historic reality’.
Argentina’s Hector Timerman and Brazil’s new Foreign minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado discussed a long agenda of common interest issues during a work meeting held in Buenos Aires, which included Mercosur, trade discussions with Europe, Unasur, Haiti and US cyber-spying in the region among other issues.
The government of President Cristina Fernandez told the business community on Monday that Argentina has an interest in a ‘balanced’ negotiation between Mercosur and the European Union to reach a political, association and trade agreement. However the timetable approach of Argentina does not seem to fit with the rest of Mercosur, mainly Brazil.
Brazil and Uruguay want to speed a trade agreement with the European Union but without abandoning Mercosur, and making it clear that they are willing to advance at “a different speed” than the rest of the group’s members, revealed a reliable source from the government of President Jose Mujica in Montevideo.